Edward Jolley
Professor Bomboy
Humanities 101
6 September 2015
Critique of Hook
I’ve decided to use the film Hook, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1991, featuring a very extraordinary
array of music composed by John Williams. I will critique this film covering
two major aspects, which are the underlying plot meanings and the original
music which accentuate the film’s most important scenes to make them more
memorable. Also, I will cover areas of cinematography associated with the film.
The plot is straightforward but there is much you can
miss, especially if you’re a child. The protagonist and lawyer “Peter Banning” suffers
from the kidnapping of his two children, Jack and Maggie, by a pirate Captain
named Hook, who is from a fairy tale place called Never-land. Upon arrival,
Peter is accused of actually being “Peter Pan” by the antagonist Captain Hook. Peter
forms an old alliance and slowly recovers his past which was clouded in a
special type of “amnesia”. He must find a way to face his enemy, save his
children, change his morals, and sort out his priorities before its too late.
Primarily I believe this film was created for entertainment
directed towards children, though it includes noticeable dark parts that are
often overlooked within the film. There is another reason for its creation
which I did not even recognize or fully understand until I became an adult. The
movie displays an array of life lessons of morality, trust, and priorities,
while also tuning into darker notions of greed, selfishness and depression. This
movie can cater to children on one level and at the same time adults on a
higher one, thus falling into a family film genre.
There
are real life emotional pain and situations in this movie that the child
audience would never understand, which gives the film an aura of realism. The protagonist
Peter displays an obsession with success, irritability, and alcoholism, which
leads to a disconnection from his wife and children. Adult viewers can relate
to these issues and have a better association with the darker tones which a
child could never begin to understand. Instead, children mainly just focus on
watching adventurous fight scenes, comedy mischief, and constant entertainment
provided by peer child actors. The antagonist Captain Hook suffers from distinct
aspects of a midlife crisis involving anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies.
Aside from the adult outlooks, there are lessons and
experiences that kids can relate to also. Peter’s children, Jack and Maggie,
love their father but suffer from broken promises and lack of attention they so
much crave. Many children viewers will understand these sorts of adaptations
and will become more intrigued to see how the story plays out. Basically, there
is a presence of happiness with an underlying hidden depression which children
can loosely but not fully understand.
If you enjoyed the scores from movies like Star wars, Jurassic
park, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Super Man, E.T., and Harry Potter, then you are
going to be very interested in Hook’s pieces because they are all created by
the same composer John Williams. I can’t stress enough the fact that the music essentially
molds the film into a work of art. John Williams composes each individual piece
and applies it to specific scenes to enhance the overall quality of the film. A
great example is the scene which the war between good vs evil breaks out and the
piece used entitled “the Ultimate War” is playing throughout climax of the
film. It’s a masterpiece in itself how
the song mixes an upbeat adventurous tone to represent the “good side” but within
the film’s scene there is nuisances complimenting the “evil side”, all the
while matching on key with the specific parts of the scenes. In further detail,
parts of the war that show peter flying it will there are many small fast paces
notes followed up by a long drawn out one to give the feeling of motion and
drive.
My favorite aspect of the music I will mention last. It’s
the theme for Captain Hook. The score is “sinister and unpredictable” (Budke). To
explain, the piece is constantly jumping back and forth between multiple instruments,
mostly string and woodwind. The theme is so significant and memorable that I recognized
it instantly after not viewing the movie for almost 10 years.
To give a better sense of this film’s depth, I find it necessary
to discuss its cinematography. A very
significant camera shot used in this film is the long-shot or establishing shot,
which is implemented upon Peter’s arrival to Never-land. The shot begins with a
small hole displaying a clock and extends to reveal Never-land which “establishes”
this unforgettable setting. The close-up shot can be seen upon the first appearance
of Captain Hook. What feels unique when the director used this technique in the
film’s first scene of the villain is that the first close-up of the Captain is
on the actual “Hooked Hand” then transitions to Hook’s face showing only his countenance
of confidence.
Camera angle techniques are widely used to show the
relationship between characters or setting aspects. The low-angle technique as
well as the high-angle technique is used simultaneously immediately after Pan’s
return flight, which displays a sense of dominance being overhead looking down
on the rest of the characters who are reaching up towards him as well as their
point of view looking up as he sours across the environment.
Overall, the film reaches out and connects with people
of all ages in different ways where as its possible for two different viewers
to see a “different film” depending on their perception. It contains a
fantastic array of music, created by a very famous and talented composer that
enhances many scenes of the film. The
cinematography used has key elements that are memorable and interesting to keep
the viewer entertained until the end. Whether a critic believes this film is
good or bad, it’s still worth watching at least once.
Works Cited
Budke,
Katelyn. “Hook: Film Score Analysis.” Prezi.com.
Prezi Inc., 4 Apr. 2014. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.
